Iran can resume nuclear activities 'more vigorously and rapidly' if the Western sanctions against Iran are not lifted or if the US intends to impose fresh sanctions on the Iranian nation.MOSCOW, January 28 (Sputnik) Iran can stop collaboration withthe West, followingthe interim nuclear deal reached withthe P5+1 group ofinternational mediators inNovember last year inGeneva if the United States and its allies do not lift the existing sanctions imposed onIran or introduce new ones, Tasnim News reports."According tothe motion [signed byover 80 Iranian lawmakers], if the Western sanctions againstIran are not lifted or if the US intends toimpose fresh sanctions onthe Iranian nation, it will face harsh reaction ofIran's parliament and administration," Ebrahim Karkhanei, chairman ofthe Iranian parliament's nuclear committee told Tasnim News Tuesday.
According toKarkhanei, "the entire contents ofthe Geneva agreement [could be] regarded asnull and avoid" if the West persists withsanctions and inthat case Iran would also "resume nuclear activities more vigorously and rapidly".
On Tuesday, US Senate sponsors ofa sanctions bill againstIran announced they would withhold their support forthe bill untilthe March 24, 2015 deadline set byP5+1 negotiators and Iran fora political framework agreement.However, US Senator Bob Menendez said that he and his colleagues remain "deeply skeptical" ofIran's commitment tonegotiations onits nuclear program.
The Obama administration has warned repeatedly that new Iran sanctions, imposed bythe US Congress, would be counterproductive tothe nuclear negotiations and the president has threatened toveto any legislation fromCapitol Hill that calls fornew Iran sanctions.
Tehran has been subject tosanctions imposed bythe UN Security Council, the United States and the European Union, aswell asseveral other countries overallegations that Iran is trying toproduce nuclear weapons. Iranian authorities have repeatedly denied these claims, stressing that the country's nuclear activities are peaceful innature.After years oftalks, inNovember 2013, Iran and the P5+1 group comprising Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Germany, agreed toprepare a document ensuring the peaceful nature ofTehran's nuclear program. In exchange, the group ofsix nations guaranteed that the sanctions imposed onIran would be lifted. The sides managed toreach only an interim accord onthe nuclear issue.
During talks held inVienna inNovember 2014, the sides failed towork outa comprehensive deal and extended negotiations untilJuly 1, 2015.
By Sputnik News
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